MN Forward had bold plans for the 2010 campaign season. Last spring the business-backed political group, a venture jointly launched by the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce and the Minnesota Business Partnership, laid out a fundraising goal of $10 million to bankroll its initial foray into electoral politics, according to a planning document obtained by Capitol Report.

The Washington Post's Chris Cillizza has dropped the Minnesota governor's race from his list of which state Capitols are most likely to switch parties in November. His previous assessment of the gubernatorial field had the Minnesota contest in the 12th slot.

Minnesota's Future, the independent political organization connected to prominent GOP consultant Jeff Larson, has raised $430,391 since the primary election. Practically all of that money came from one source: a $429,000 contribution from the Republican Governor's Association.

Republican Tom Emmer picked up a significant chit today with the endorsement of the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce's political action committee. The decision isn't particularly surprising given that chamber president David Olson is also the chair of MN Forward, which has been running television commercials on Emmer's behalf.

At a Catholic Charities gathering last fall, Tom Horner and Stephen Imholte began chatting about the looming 2010 governor's race. They knew each other casually from years spent working on Republican campaigns and causes. But as they talked, it also became clear that they shared a growing frustration with the increasingly rightward tilt of the GOP in recent years. Both believed that there was an opening in 2010 for a centrist candidate to exploit the polarization of the two dominant political parties and the resulting gridlock at the Capitol.

The Minnesota Department of Revenue, by its calculations, advised last week that taxing the rich alone won't solve our budget deficit.

During floor debate on the omnibus pension bill on May 5, state Sen. David Hann, R-Eden Prairie, offered an amendment that proposed to stop offering new employees defined benefit pensions and instead offer to a more market-based form of retirement savings known as defined contribution plans.

The Chamber's endorsement puts to rest speculation that the state's largest business group might endorse IP candidate Tom Horner.

Minnesota's convoluted race for governor won't provide a clear mandate in November, Rothenberg told the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce.

The political action committee affiliated with the state's largest physicians lobby has endorsed Independence Party gubernatorial candidate Tom Horner.